Symmetrical faces linked to brain power

Published on Monday 10 August 2009 09:59

THE shape of a man's face can reveal how mentally alert he will be in later life, according to new research by Edinburgh University.

Psychologists found that men with more symmetrical faces were less likely to experience a slowdown of brain power between the ages of 79 and 83.

They used results from the 1932 Scottish Mental Survey to compare the facial symmetry of a sample of men and women , and relate this to their performance in reasoning and reaction-time tests.

But the same results were not found in women, according to the study published in the Evolution and Human Behaviour journal.

Researchers said this could be because of sex-specific effects of DNA on ageing, or because women live longer than men and mental functions decline especially rapidly in the last years of life.

The researchers say that the findings show a link between physical condition and mental decline.

Scientists have already found a connection with symmetrical faces and health, physical attractiveness and beauty.